About
Education
I graduated high school in 2020 from North Catholic in Cranberry, PA. As we all know, that was during the peak of COVID-19, at least in the USA, so it was a very strange last year of high school. Because of that, I never really had a fair chance to think about what I wanted to do with my future. I had some ideas about going into crime forensics, but other than that, I really had no idea where I wanted to set my ambitions.
Rather than jumping headfirst into college without really knowing what I wanted, I decided to take two years off from school. I did a lot with that time, which I explain later. After my first year off, however, I decided that I wanted to go to college. I realized that it was where I wanted to be. I basically longed for the free learning environment that college offered.
It was not until later that year that I decided I wanted to learn more about computers. It was an idea I had thought about before, but at the time, it seemed far out of reach. After taking so much time away from school, I really wanted something that would challenge me. Video games had always been a hobby of mine as well, so my original goal was to try to get into video game design and development.
During my last year of my gap period, I visited many schools, but none of them truly felt like home compared to Saint Vincent College in Latrobe. Pittsburghers may recognize the school as the place where the Steelers practice. It was a small but beautiful school tucked away in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania.
I started my college career there in 2022. The following four years of my life easily became the best years of my life. I felt like my place was truly there at Saint Vincent. I was supposed to be there. I made several friends and fell in love with several new hobbies.
Computer science quickly became my favorite subject to learn about. My other computer science classmates and I would constantly talk about difficult projects or scary exams that were coming up. It was a challenge, sure, but I fell in love with that challenge.
I often spent nights before exams studying until the library lights would turn off. I spent countless hours in the library working through tough programming projects. My friends and I would read through an assignment and joke about how badly we were going to fail it, only to solve the problems we came across every time it felt impossible.
So much of it was just taking in new information. It drove us up the wall sometimes, but that was part of the enjoyment. Overcoming challenges and beating the odds quickly became one of my favorite hobbies.
I learned more than I ever thought I would at Saint Vincent College. Not just in computer science, but in many aspects of life. I graduated in 2026 with a bachelor’s degree in computer science and even graduated cum laude. It was a very proud moment for me, but I knew it was only the beginning, and that many more challenges were on the horizon.
Work Experience
My first job was actually as a busser at Break Neck Tavern in Mars, PA. To me, it was a very fun job. It was a great introduction to fast-paced work and taught me a lot about the type of atmosphere I enjoy. I often enjoyed working behind the bar, where I would clean and dry glasses for the bartenders. Since I was there helping them so often, I quickly became friends with the bartenders.
At the end of the day, I learned that I enjoyed fast-paced environments and efficiency. I also learned that a workplace can be a comforting and enjoyable place—somewhere I can make friends and enjoy the job I am doing. As long as things get done, there is room to have fun and enjoy the company of your coworkers.
COVID-19 came around, and after some time in lockdown, I lost that job. However, since I was graduating from high school at that point, I was looking for other work anyway. A couple of years before I graduated, I heard that I could easily work in a national park for a company called Xanterra Travel Collection. I liked the idea because when else in my life would I have the opportunity to do something like that?
I decided that I wanted to work in Yellowstone National Park as a fast-food worker in the Old Faithful Geyser area. The restaurant was called Geyser Grill. Certainly not five-star dining, as it was hard to get good food while inside the park, but it fed many families, and that was rewarding for me. I enjoy a good hike, and I know how hungry it can make you.
My coworkers there were helpful and very fun to work with. However, there were times when several of them would call off at once, leaving me and a couple of other coworkers in charge of the restaurant. That was generally where I shined because I learned every part of the restaurant. From working the grill and fryer, to running orders to guests, and even being in charge of cold and dry storage, I became comfortable doing just about anything that needed to be done.
My weekends in Yellowstone were filled with long drives to hiking trails and back, taking photographs, or hanging out with friends. It was a great experience for me—so much so that after my first season at Geyser Grill, I went back for the next summer season.
Between my two seasons at Yellowstone, I picked up a different job at the Amazon fulfillment center in Imperial, PA, near the Pittsburgh Airport. This job paid rather well for me, as I hardly had any expenses at the time, and so I really put forth the effort. It has always been my thought that if I am paid well, I should work even better.
Obviously, my work ethic was still strong at lower-paying jobs, but it just mattered that much more at a job where I was finally making some substantial money. My managers noticed how well I was working and often had me move around and handle other jobs that other people did not want to do. I was completely okay with it because, well, I took pride in doing work that others put down. It made me feel like I was needed there.
After working there for six months, I wanted to go back to Yellowstone for my second and last season, so I quit. When I left, I was told that they would easily take me back if I ever needed work down the road because I had left on very good terms with my managers.
After my second season at Yellowstone, I did not return to Amazon, mainly because I did not like the drive I had to make every morning. So I found another job at LabChem, again as a warehouse worker.
Again, I made good relationships with my manager and other coworkers easily. My manager even trusted me to package high-importance chemicals because my efficient and careful packaging was looked upon favorably. By the end, I understood the ins and outs of LabChem. I did a great job and met some of my favorite coworkers there.
It was actually because of the relationships I made that I went back to LabChem during the summers between college. I appreciate this job perhaps more than any of the others I had. It showed me that simply being myself could often pay off and lead to both a good job and good friends.
After my junior year of college, I had an internship at Whitaker House in New Kensington. It was a Software Developer Internship with the IT team at Whitaker House, a company that helps publish and distribute Christian literature and other items.
This was my first look into a technical work environment. My schooling had gotten me rather far, and I felt fully prepared to take on the job. It was both fun and nerve-racking. I had never done anything like this before. Some parts of projects were completely reliant on me and how well I did them. Because of that, I took the responsibility seriously. I really wanted to make the systems they asked me to build as good as I possibly could.
The systems I built and worked on are listed on my resume. Soon, this work became an everyday part of my life, and I got used to it. It felt good to finally be doing work related to my degree.
I did well during this internship, and it eventually led to a job offer from Whitaker House to work for them during my senior year as a contractor. Although I was more focused on my education during this time, I still managed to spend many hours building and reworking systems from my internship. I also had to reeducate my coworkers on how my systems worked so they had a better idea of how to maintain them.
I started some other projects with my supervisor and helped with any minor issues the team was facing. I did well in this setting, but after graduating from college, I decided that I did not enjoy remote contractor work. I really wanted to get back into the in-person, full-time work that I had enjoyed earlier in my life.